Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba: The central performances coupled with the first half makes the movie watchable

A convoluted second half makes the movie a not so Hasseen sequel

  • Starcast: Taapsee Pannu, Vikrant Massey, Sunny Kaushal, Jimmy Shergill and others
  • Director: Jayprad Desai
  • Writer: Kanika Dhillon
  • Producers: Anand L Rai, Himanshu Sharma and others
  • Production Companies: Color Yellow Productions and T- Series Films
  • Music: Sachet- Parampara and Anurag Saikia
  • Cinematography: Vishal Sinha
  • Running time: 2 hours and 12 minutes
  • Streaming site: Netflix

The first part of Haseen Dilruba was a well-made exploration of love and marriage under the guise of a thriller. Director Vinil Mathews did an excellent job in showcasing the various stages of Rishabh Saxena (Vikrant Massey) and Rani Kashyap (Tapsee Pannu’s) marriage. The way the relationship swings between intense dislike and intense love kept the viewers hooked. Haseen Dilruba also worked as an investigative thriller with the viewers constantly guessing about a supposed murder along with the disappearance of Rishabh’s cousin Neel (Harshvardhan Rane). The sequel naturally comes with a certain baggage. Director Jayprad Desai does a good job in carrying forward the craziness of Risabh and Rani. This time around Sunny Kaushal plays the third wheel, and his character is also equally twisted. However, after a promising start the movie starts stagnating for two reasons. One is the unnecessary subplots and two overdose of twists in the second half.

In Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba Rani and Rishi have relocated to Agra. However, they live separately. Sometimes they do meet but give the impression of being strangers. Rishi pays a big amount to a travel agent who promises to make fake passports so that the couple can leave India. On the other hand, there is the compounder (Abhimanyu) who falls in deep love with Rani. Monty (Jimmy Shergill) is the uncle of Neel; he wants to see Rani behind the bars for a certain crime, he is also absolutely certain about Rishi being alive. He keeps track of everything Rani does, in the process the travel agent is also arrested. Rani decides to marry Abhimanyu to convince the cops about Rishi’s death. The plan is to escape with Rishi at the right time leaving Abhimanyu stranded but things go awry. This is the story in brief.

The story of Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba dwells into the familiar territory of love, obsession and betrayal. But to the credit of Jayprad desai he does keep the viewers tensed about what will happen next more so in the first half. The scenes of Rani and Rishi meeting as strangers is fun to watch. The conversations are filled with some quirky dialogues.

Initially the viewers feel that Abhimanyu is too meek, and things would be very easy for Rani and Rishi however the twist regarding Abhimanyu’s character takes the viewers by complete surprise.

Rani and Rishi give the impression of being strangers
Initially the viewers get the impression of Abhimanyu being too meek

The actions of Jimmy Shergill and his desperation in catching Rani keeps the viewers guessing about her eventual fate. Special must also be made of Dinesh Pandit’s pulp fiction novels. Both Rani and Rishabh quote lines from his works and this adds to the drama on numerous occasions. Here it has to be mentioned that Dinesh Pandit is not based on any real-life author. Writer Kanika Dhillon has just used a fictional name to pay homage to all the pulp fiction writers.

Coming back to the movie the plot becomes very messy in the second half. A major stumbling block is how Monty and his men are not able to catch Rani and Rishi when it is very clear on how they are taking help from these pulp fiction books. There is no denying that some of the second half developments are thoroughly unexpected but at the same time it makes the viewers scratch their heads. The changing dynamics also leaves the viewers bewildered because of the rushed storytelling.

The trio of Taapsee Pannu, Vikrant Massey and Sunny Kaushal leave a strong impact with their performances. As Rani Taapsee looks like a million bucks. The way she seduces Abhimanyu into marriage and sexual undertones have been wonderfully portrayed. She particularly stands out in the movie’s climax while showcasing the emotional turmoil.

As Rani Taapsee looks like a million bucks

Vikrant Massey is also a treat to watch with his striking portrayal of a man torn between love and madness. Sunny Kaushal proves to be a valuable addition in how he handles the different shades of Abhimanyu. He goes from meek to aggressive without any hitch.

As Monty Jimmy Shergill has a commanding presence delivering an impressive act. The character starts off with promise but after a point he becomes a mere pawn. Aditya Srivastava gets even less prominence

Sachet- Parampara and Anurag Saikia’s music goes well with the mood of the movie. Haaste Haaste in particular makes for a good number. This takes place during the marriage of Rani and Abhimanyu. Vishal Sinha’s cinematography is also of a fine standard.

Haseen Dilruba: An Exploration Of Love And Marriage Under The Guise Of A Thriller

Vinil Mathew’s Haseen Dilruba starts off as an investigation thriller but as the story progresses it turns out to be more than that. Vinil Mathews last film was the romantic comedy Hasse Toh Phasse. This one is a dramatic shift in terms of many things but fortunetly he pulls it off for most part.

Tapsee Pannu plays a middle class girl from Delhi( Rani Kashyap). She has done a beautician course and has certain qualities in mind that she wants in her life partner. Vikrant Massey plays Rishabh Saxena from Jwalapur, he’s an electrical engineer with a government job. His only hobby is repairing electronic items whenever he gets an opportunity. Rishabh is a far cry from the husband that Rani wants but she still ends up in an arranged marriage with him. However the marriage soon starts falling apart. One reason for that is the sexual incompatibility and other reason being the timid nature of Rishabh.

At this point you have the arrival of Neel played by Harshvardhan Rane. Neel is someone who is into adventure sports and it doesn’t take long for Rani to get attracted to Neel. Both of them have a secret relationship and that includes physical too. Things take a huge turn when Rishabh is supposedly dead in a gas explosion and Neel has disappeared. Rani is considered to be the prime suspect for the alleged murder of her husband.

The biggest reason why  Haseen Dilruba works  is due to the way Vinil Mathew portrays the various stages of Rani and Rishabh’s marriage. It swings between Intense disklike and intense love for most part.

Intially Rishabh comes across as a henpecked one but there is a sudden shift in the character when Rani reveals about her having an affair with Neel. The darker tone has been portrayed with subtlety and it never goes over the top. You only have a subtle gesture in terms of the facial features that suggest what is going through Risabh’s mind. Vikrant is good as the timid husband but he is even better when the tonality changes.

The passion that the characters share comes out very palpably and we firmly root for the couple.

The film also looks at how time and circumstances shape our actions and behaviour. There are no heroes and villains here as each character comes out with its own set of flaws. We are ultimately shown how we do crazy things for each other and to each other just because at that time we feel this is the right thing to do.

The film also talks about how men get uncomfortable when women openly choose to express their sexual drive. There are scenes in the beginning  of the marriage when Rani drops her pallu to excite Rishabh but Rishabh feels very uncomfortable.

Like most films of this genre Vinil Mathew employs the technique of going back and forth. The thriller aspect has also been done well since you are constantly guessing about what actually happened.

The thriller format isn’t something new for Tapsee but she still delivers a wonderful performance. She is someone who knows that she has flaws and has a hard time accepting them. However at the same time she has the ability to change as well. Tapsee pulls off all these shades well. Harshvardhan Rane leaves an impact in his small role. He fits the part of the handsome hunk and you can easily understand why Rani falls for Neel.

The only things which stick out are parts of Tapsee’s family. They simply dissapear when the story takes a dark turn and you are not given any proper explanation.

Haseen Dilruba isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but it is worth a watch for the plot and the performances.